Gabourey Sidibe's Weight Overshadows Her Talent

Posted on Mar 19th 2010 4:00PM by Ashley Neglia

That's Fit writer Ashley Neglia weighs in on body image overshadowing talent in Hollywood.

For those who didn't hear it, Howard Stern's rant on Gabourey Sidibe's weight was a brutally honest -- or just brutal, depending on where you stand -- assumption on how far Sidibe's post-"Precious" career can go based on her size.

"There's the most enormous, fat black chick I've ever seen. She is enormous," he said. "Everyone's pretending she's a part of show business, and she's never going to be in another movie. She should have gotten the Best Actress award because she's never going to have another shot. What movie is she gonna be in?"

It's been two weeks since then, and instead of focusing on her talent or accomplishment -- and yes, it's true that she's been picked up to appear on the new Showtime series "The C Word," starring Laura Linney, and has already lined up her next silver screen role opposite Zoe Kravitz in "Yelling to the Sky" -- yet we're still talking about Sidibe's BMI. Now we've got Jesse James to muck up Sandra Bullock's Academy Award win for "The Blind Side," and before that, we were focusing on Mo'Nique's aversion to shaving her legs during The Golden Globes. What else can we come up with to dim these ladies' achievements and turn up the spotlight on their personal lives?

Stern's blunt outburst has been hailed as a "vicious attack" and "tirade of verbal abuse," and in response, he backtracked by saying he intended to draw attention to the actress's health -- or lack thereof -- by comparing Sidibe's obesity to comedian Artie Lange's suicide attempt.

"Like, I kind of don't see a difference between what our Artie did -- Artie tried to kill himself. And I feel this girl, in a slower way...she's gonna kill herself," he said.

Sidibe's already been defended by the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA) and Jessica Simpson and also been declared unhealthy by weight loss company AcaiSupply.com and, now, her own mother. Sidibe, for her part, has stayed out of it and seems to maintain what she's said in previous interviews: she's happy with the way she looks. I applaud her for that.

Sidibe's weight was like the pink elephant in the room. Everyone knew it, but no one said anything about it -- that is, until Stern, in his typical no-holds-barred fashion, opened his mouth. Regardless of Stern's self-described altruistic motives, the fact of the matter was that it just didn't need to be said, and what I find most disturbing is that the 26-year-old's recent Oscar nomination has now been marred by a fixation on her weight.

As a member of the media and, especially, as a That's Fit writer, it's hypocritical for me to say that I don't have a place in all this. I won't be as crude as Stern, but I'm not going to mince words either. Sidibe is obese. I don't know what she eats or what her exercise regimen looks like, if she has one, but if the girl is comfortable in her own skin, then let her be. She didn't enter Hollywood with a Julia Roberts or Cameron Diaz-esque role, and maybe that's not what she's going for. She's already proven that she's talented enough to get work outside of "Precious," so why not let her career unfold on its own before preemptively damning her to obscurity?

Kirstie Alley has been criticized for her size, too. Now she's trying to lose the weight for good.

14 Comment

Tags: gabourey sidibe, howard stern, jesse james, monique, precious, sandra bullock, the blind side

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Judy Wolfberg 3-20-2010 @ 1:04PM

Howard Stern is a jerk. A loud mouth big jerk. The other day I saw photographs of several Hollywood women who looked like they just barely were able to stand on their own two feet. Skinny with their bones sticking out. They were awful looking.

So what if this woman in the article is overweight. Why do we have to be sujected to morons like Howard Stern because we don't follow his idea of what a woman should weigh.

Howard - Shut your stupid, perverted mouth and stop perpetuating your idea of what a woman should look like to those of us who think you're a waste of time.

JC Ford 3-22-2010 @ 9:31AM

Judy,

Really? You can honestly look at this poor poor girl and not see the AWFUL reality that in a matter of years, this 27 year old girl will have a myriad of possibly FATAL health problems not limited to diabetes, congestive heart disease, asthma, apnea and horribly high cholesterol levels? Are you saying you do not care about the well being of another human?

"So what if this woman in the article is overweight. Why do we have to be sujected to morons like Howard Stern because we don't follow his idea of what a woman should weigh" wait...so you think its ANYONE'S idea that a woman should be morbidly obese? I applaud Stern for his comment. While I don't agree with him much of the time, his brash attack brought attention to THE premminent problem facing out country today. Our children, for the first time in history, have a shorter life expectancy than their parents. The cause? Obesity.

Shame on you for your comment Judy. It sounded catty and immature with zero attention paid to the crux of the issue. Obesity needs to be curbed, and hopefully ended. If Gabourey Sidibe is the unfortunate posterchild for this disease, so be it. She can be the voice of reason and thousands of people who see her as the voice of the obese population can be helped and motivated as she battles it. I hope she succeeds. Otherwise, you and everyone else who defends her weight as "acceptable" will eat crow when she dies a horrible, tragic and preventable death in a matter of years.

andy 3-23-2010 @ 9:44AM

I think Howard was just trying to state that in this country with a high teen obesity rate that we are saying it is ok if your in hollywood. I think howard is right and honest. She might get a couple of roles here and there but she won't be a leading lady in any movie due to her weight. That is not what Hollywood wants to see. It is a fact. I think it is sad that this great actress might be dead or have many problems with her health because she is a great actress. Celebrities won't state the obvious that she needs to lose weight for herself and not stay obese just for a role. Howard always speaks the truth and is alwya honest. He says what many of us are thinking but are to afraid to say. You go howard!

Lisa White 3-21-2010 @ 4:31PM

I rented the movie Fri and I really thought overall that it was bad. I could barely understand her and I realize it was set in Harlem and everything, but it was just a bad movie. No one has the right to make fun of another person's weight. She is obese though and kind of hard to look at without wincing. It is what it is.

u262f 3-21-2010 @ 10:04PM

Fame is a double-edged sword. If people want to make money in show biz, that's the way things go. If people weren't gossiping about her weight, they'd find something else to gossip about. It sounds like the actress knows this, and it sounds like she's happy and confident enough to stay above the gossip. I definitely admire that. Good for her!

JC Ford 3-22-2010 @ 9:34AM

And Judy, please dont think I'm only attacking you. i'm also attacking the other 2 comments as well as Ashley Neglia, the author of the article!

Pink Princess 3-26-2010 @ 9:46AM

I think the point is really that she realizes she is obese and everyone doesn't need to tell her that she's obese. It is hurtful to point out things that are different about people. If she had one leg, would Howard Stern have went off on her about that as well. If we all want to live in a world where we are accepted and there is equality, this is another downward point.

If Mr. Stern really was just trying to state that we as a nation, as a world, have an obesity problem which is in need of a solution, that is what Stern should have said. There are more obese people in the world than just Gabourey Sibide so it's just a part of the way life is now, something we all need to try to improve, not hide from or make fun of someone for.

Good job Miss Gabourey Sidibe for being a real person, happy in your own skin and be proud of yourself!

Kat 4-13-2010 @ 10:12PM

I think anyone who is attempting to help someone with their weight should influence them to love themselves and there bodies at any weight, and I know Howard Stern said he was "trying" to help but it really wasn't for him to say it; I think it would be appropiate if someone like Monique said something to her, someone who has been there and done that, but I think Monique has enough respect for her that she'll let her be because Gabourey loves herself and doesn't have a problem with her body. I also think family members have that right, people who are close to her, not Howard Stern. It really is about her and her decisions; I can relate because I am obese, I realize that my weight is a problem but that will never stop me from loving my body at any weight. For me getting healthy is all about me being able to move faster, gym class sucks at times because I'm slower in stamina than everyone else in my class, so that's my reason; I think Gabdibe(that's what my mom calls her)will have her reason one day. If you think about alot of overweight women in Hollywood wait until losing weight and the ones who do lose weight all have specific reasons why they chose to become healthier, ultimately it's her choice, criticizing doesn't solve the issue.

Me 4-25-2010 @ 2:04AM

Most of you are completely missing the issue here. This girl is beyond fat or heavy, she is morbidly obese, she can barely open her eyes and that is no exaggeration. Whether or not Howard Stern was being mean or inappropriate in what he said, he was right! She is everything that is wrong with a huge majority of our society today...pure, flat out, some else is at fault laziness. I also think it's funny that we now pigeon hole fat actors and actresses into roles of poor economic status...it doesn't look like Precious was hurting too badly for a meal to me. This woman is a disgusting slob and even though she now has money I'm sure she'll find a way to become a drain on our socio-economic status and abuse our health care system. If you think I'm a jerk then just wait for her to prove me wrong, but get a snack, it'll be a while.

Tina 4-26-2010 @ 12:37PM

"Me", your comment was extremely rude towards the end. Your viciousness is neither constructive nor effective towards furthering this debate.

I do, however, agree that Howard Stern is right, however crude the man may be. Sidibe is morbidly obese, as medical terms would have it. She does need to lose weight and take better care of herself and I sincerely hope she does so and makes her efforts public to help all her fans.

I would just like to point out that obesity, especially to the extent that Sidibe suffers from, is often something started in childhood. The foods young children are given when young, and the amount, predispose them for obesity in the future. I would not quite blame this young woman for her weight, but also look to her parents for an explanation. This goes for all the parents of obese children. Obesity "Running in the family" is rarely genetic, it is cultural and traditional. Think about it. If the parents eat fried chicken 5 days a week, the kids probably are you. Everyone will be overweight or obese and because the family is all related, blame is placed on genes. It's how we raise our children.

In conclusion, I just hope that all the parents reading this take a long hard look at their lifestyles and how this may affect their children. Play is exercise and kids are just as happy with a pb+j as they are with fried chicken with a side of fries (not that pb+j's are that much healthier, but a start compared to McDonald's or similar for an afterschool snack). Only purchase and have healthy foods around the house you'll find you forget about junk food easier than you think. The key is limiting exposure and everything else will fall into place.

Good luck to all those dealing with their weight. And I hope all those who aren't understand that helping provide ideas and education to healthier lifestyles does not start with ridicule and criticism.

Peter 4-28-2010 @ 11:29PM

Of course her weight makes people uncomfortable. What gets many of us is not that we don't like how a talented actress looks but that the fact that how she looks is a symptom of a disease that's going to kill her while she's still young. When obesity is that extreme it's impossible to look at someone and not see the disease as much as the person--and it's natural for that to make us uncomfortable. We should deal with our discomfort gracefully--there's no reason to be cruel or rude--but the discomfort isn't going to go away. Her weight is a tattoo across her forehead reading in giant letters, "I'm dying." It's impossible not to see, and it's impossible to ignore.

Fat or healthy, she should act and get roles based on her abilities, but at the size she is now her weight does affect how people will see her--every role she takes is going to have to deal with the discomfort her appearance causes. That might be a good thing for her career, as she clearly has the talent to make good use of that discomfort. But, as with Karen Carpenter, all to soon it will be impossible to watch her work without being constantly struck by the extreme weight that killed her. It's going to make us even more uncomfortable then.

Aureliano Buendia 11-02-2010 @ 7:20PM

Stern has no interest whatsoever in Gabourey Sidibe's health, or anyone's health, for that matter. He was simply using her as a convenient target for his general hatred of anyone who does not meet his artificial standard of perfection. Anyone who thinks this is an expression of concern is either a diehard fan, or has never heard of him. Stern is an obnoxious, talentless buffoon who has made a fortune playing to the fantasies of prepubescent boys. I have heard that he is a raging bully in his private life, as well.

Petra 5-31-2011 @ 9:20AM

She's fat! I don't understand why she is so fat!! She should lose weight! 1000kg

RL 6-08-2011 @ 3:01PM

Gabby may be overweight, but it is probably the way that she was raised. I was 200 pounds at one point, and although it is my fault, it still had a lot to do with family life.

I come from a 'fried chicken' type of family. Everyone constantly ate foods like this and found reasons for being overweight, such as 'everyone in the family is overweight' or 'guys like thick chicks better' when in fact, we ALL were overweight and needed to do something about it.

I once decided to try to include the entire family in a weight-loss program when I was in my early twenties. It didn't work. Thus, I dieted on my own and constantly turned down by family's grease-soaked fried meals. Unfortunately, when my weightloss was noticeable, they started to taunt me and said that I was eating 'white' instead of 'black' etc. They have also told me that I'm 'bony' when in reality, after losing 60 pounds, I'm average and could stand to lose more.

This is probably the reality that Gabby faces. She has had dreams of becoming healthier, but the pressure from her family and friends prevents this from becoming a reality for her.

I hope that she finds peace soon, and I'm personally glad that she's not too worried about her weight.